The Disciple, A Suitable Boy will represent India at Toronto International Film Festival 2020

Chaitanya Tamhane’s The Disciple, which will premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, and the BBC series A Suitable Boy will be screened at the 45th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which is being held from 10 - 19 September.

The series, which premiered on BBC One on 26 July, will close out the festival, while Spike Lee will present David Byrne's American Utopia, his concert documentary on the singer-songwriter, will open the festival. Tamhane's Marathi film will be shown in the special presentation section.

This year's festival will include physical screenings, drive-ins, digital screenings, virtual red carpets, press conferences, interactive talks and Q&As with cast members, filmmakers and other industry professionals. The line-up of 50 new feature films, short films, documentaries, includes Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer’s Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds, Nicolás Pereda’s Fauna, Naomi Kawase’s True Mothers and One Night in Miami, the feature directorial debut of Regina King, amongst others.

The worldwide pandemic has affected film festivals across the world with many of them looking at ways of organising festivals but also keeping safety guidelines in mind. This is the first time in TIFF's history that it will launch a digital platform enabling audiences beyond Toronto to connect with it. 

The 45th edition features 46% of the films are directed or co-directed by women, up 10% from last year. Cameron Bailey, the festival's co-head and artistic director told Variety.com, "We’ve reached a watershed moment where the entire film world is embracing the fact that women’s voices have been underrepresented for too long. Now is the time where we can bring more of these films to the fore.”

As announced previously, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas will represent India as TIFF Ambassadors, alongside filmmakers and artistes like Ava DuVernay, Darren Aronofsky, and Nicole Kidman.

The festival also emphasised its Media Inclusion Initiative that will continue to accredit eligible Black, indigenous and people of colour, LGBTQ+ and women emerging film critics who are working towards amplifying their voices in the press corps. For the first time, the 2020 festival is offering companies and individuals the opportunity to gift industry access to 250 under-represented emerging filmmakers from around the globe.